Michael Kubosh for Houston City Council

Bail bondsman has become a force in city politics; we hope he'll use his skills wisely.

Copyright 2013: Houston Chronicle

Updated 7:42 pm, Friday, November 22, 2013

Looking at the candidates for the runoff, it feels a bit like the whole City Council At-large 3 race was a competition of name recognition. For the Saturday, Dec. 14, election, former mayoral candidate Roy Morales will be facing off against Michael Kubosh, who led the 2010 city-wide referendum campaign against red light cameras. Voters should back Kubosh. We don't always agree with the bail bondsman's agenda, but he has an undeniable passion for city issues and a striking compassion for the poor.

Kubosh's history of referenda-driven politics and hyperbolic comments hinted that he was not yet ready for prime time - or Wednesday mornings around the City Hall horseshoe. But over the campaign, he has smoothed over rough patches, reached out to opponents and strived to educate himself on the issues.

"I'm not going to be someone who is going to showboat," Kubosh told the Houston Chronicle editorial board, saying that he intended to find common ground with Mayor Annise Parker to get things done. "I'm not just a 'no' vote."

It was a shift in attitude from the beginning of his campaign, one that we hope sticks. Kubosh has some admirable goals, such as improving the municipal courts, working to fix problems with water bills and all-around sticking up for the little guy. In our strong-mayor city government, council members have the option to lead, follow or get out of the way, and we hope he'll choose wisely.

Morales, who has served as director of the city of Houston Emergency Center and as a board member of the Harris County Department of Education, has more experience in elected office and city government than Kubosh but often plays fast and loose with the issues.

In a conspiratorial bent, there is a YouTube video of Morales at a 2005 Minuteman rally claiming that undocumented immigrants are being sent by China, Russia and al-Qaida "as a way to get into our country without launching million dollar nuclear weapons." When questioned about that past statement, Morales said that he can't elaborate due to military security. "Yes, I know a lot of things, and yes, I can't say things," he told the Chronicle editorial board.

That sort of self-aggrandizing secrecy belongs in spy novels, not at City Hall. Voters should want someone who will focus on Houston. The Houston Chronicle endorses Michael Kubosh for At-large 3.